‘GOETHE LIVED HERE’

IN THE UNIVERSITY TOWN OF TÜBINGEN, NOBODY IS SAFE FROM STUDET SPOOFS. NOT EVEN GOETHE, GERMANY’S GREATEST POET.

The great poet Goethe is an ubiquitous presence in Germany. Hundreds of high schools and streets carry his name, and a commemorative plaque hangs wherever the man of letters set foot. This is the case at Münzgasse 15 in Tübingen, where a sign reads: “Goethe lived here” — namely for 14 days, while on his way to Italy, having stopped here for a visit with Johann Friedrich Cotta, the famous publisher of German classic literature. In 1986, the groups of tourists who regularly make a pilgrimage to Cotta’s house inspired the students in the adjacent dormitory to hang an equally edifying sign from one of the windows: “Goethe puked here.” A provocation that may just contain a kernel of truth: It is reported that Goethe countered his displeasure over Tübingen with long evenings in the city’s various taverns. The spoof of the commemorative plaque is now better known than the original, and for the city’s tour guides it often serves as the final highlight of their excursions. Through the years, however, the old plywood sign has suffered the perils of weather and time, so now one of the initiators would like to replace it — with one made of material more befitting a commemorative plaque: Carrara marble.

Text: Bernd Hauser, Photos: Heinz Heiss
Bilfinger Berger Magazine 1/2011